Sooner or Later
by MidnightRoulette
Summary: Roy Harper and Jade Nguyen were ill-equipped to be parents. But their options were also few and far between. With the Shadows gunning for them and the League looking to catch Cheshire, they go on the run together, hoping to find their own paradise.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: More Roy/Jade from me. This is probably going to be a chapter fic, and hopefully I'll be able to update it fairly frequently. First chapter is a bit short, but the next few will be longer. I was inspired to write this by Mat Kearney's song _Sooner or Later_ which is one of—in my opinion—the best song's ever written. You should definitely listen to the song, because honestly, it's fantastic. Anyways this fic is partially dedicated to Omnipots, my tumblr lover and soulmate 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

><p>Chapter One: Discovery<p>

* * *

><p>Jade felt sick to her stomach. The white walls of her dingy little apartment's bathroom were starting to spin. Her head started to pound as thoughts of her now very bleak looking future filled her mind.<p>

Her breaths came in short gasps as she slid, back against the wall, down to the floor.

She now knew that her death was imminent. She would be dead in a matter of months. She was so dead that picturing herself with cold, pale skin and lifeless eyes wasn't even an issue.

_Oh god,_ she thought, closing her eyes.

That little pink plus sign, on that _stupid_ white stick said everything.

Pregnant.

* * *

><p>There was really only one thing that Roy hated about having a double life.<p>

And it was the fact that he had to do something _other_ than patrol Star City. Of course, Roy had to keep up appearances in order to maintain his secret identity. It simply wouldn't do to see the adopted son of billionaire Olive Queen, staying holed up in his penthouse apartment for the entirety of his life. It just didn't make sense to those god awful press people.

Hence the reason, that Roy had a job working at Queen Industries—he only showed up twice a week, if that—courtesy of Ollie. And it was also the reason that he was currently attending some old bitty socialite's birthday party.

Roy could see Oliver standing across the room from him and gave him and Dinah a slight wave.

He inhaled slowly through his nose. _God this is pointless._

And before he could stop himself, Roy was pulling out his phone and dialing_ her_ number.

Turning away from the crowd as it rang, he waited until:

"_It's Jade. Leave a message and _if_ you're _lucky_, I'll call you back._"

Roy furrowed his brows, hanging up. She usually always answered the phone when he called. And it _had_ been quite some time since she'd come over.

Roy hoped she was okay.

* * *

><p>Jade was <em>so<em> not okay.

She was still locked in the bathroom, sitting on the floor, hyperventilating. She knew she was acting crazy, but maybe that was just her hormones.

_Dear God,_ she moaned, letting her head fall back against the bathroom wall. _She was already starting to sound like a pregnant woman._

She had to do something. She couldn't just sit here forever. She knew what the consequences would be for her if the Shadows found out.

She had to get rid of _it. _She would go tomorrow, Jade decided.

* * *

><p>Too many unreturned phone calls and almost three days later, Roy still hadn't heard from Jade. And he was starting to get worried.<p>

Roy was used to usual check ins from Jade, sort of a little courtesy to let him know that, yeah she was still alive. It didn't have to be a call, it could've been just a text, or an email. Hell even a cryptic not on the fridge would've worked for him.

But he'd heard absolutely nothing from her. And in their line of business that was definitely not good.

He sent her a quick text to let her know he was on his way, before setting off for Jade's apartment in downtown Star City.

* * *

><p>Jade couldn't understand why this was so difficult. She was currently seated outside of the Women's Health Clinic, simply staring at the door.<p>

She'd seen countless women come in and out of the place, since she'd been sitting there.

She didn't understand why she couldn't just go in there and _do it. _Jade had killed before, and by _her_ definition, that _thing_ inside of her stomach wasn't really a kid yet. So it wasn't technically murder.

Right?

Jade sighed, wondering why the hell she felt so awful about this. She had come to this stupid clinic every day for the past three days and just sat, watching the door. She hadn't found the courage to go in, for some strange reason.

No, she amended, it wasn't for just some strange reason. It was definitely because Roy had left her several voicemails inquiring about her over the past three days.

Roy deserved to know. He really did. But for Jade, saying it out loud would make it _real_. And she couldn't deal with that.

Her solution? Avoid him at all costs.

Unfortunately, she realized as she looked up at the approaching footsteps, avoiding the ginger-haired archer was going to be next to impossible.

* * *

><p>When Roy had arrived at Jade's apartment, he'd found it empty. Which, he relented, it usually was. The few times he'd stopped by to return the odd article of clothing, or earring left behind—any excuse to see her again—she'd never been home.<p>

But considering he hadn't seen or heard from her in three days, it worried him slightly. And, maybe, just maybe, finally activating the GPS tracker he'd put in her phone, was a little bit creepy…

But when he stepped out of his car and found Jade sitting on a bench outside a women's clinic, her eyes red from what looked like lack of sleep and—had she been _crying?_—Roy was glad that he had found her.

* * *

><p>"Jade?"<p>

The mere sound of his voice made her flinch. She didn't dare look at him, for fear of seeing something that would push her over the edge. Rage or disgust, maybe.

"Jade."

She closed her eyes, willing herself not to break down completely. She couldn't, she _wouldn't_. Not in front of him.

"Roy."

The ginger-haired archer knelt down in front of her, placing a hand on her knee. She recoiled, almost as if it had burned her, and Roy furrowed his brows.

"What's going on? Where have you been? And why—"

"Isn't it obvious what's going on?" she snarled, glancing furtively at the door to the women's clinic.

"I—" Roy exhaled and knelt down in front of her. "Just tell me what's going on Jade. I've never seen you so—"

"If you know what's good for you, you won't finish that sentence," Jade snarled, glaring as his hand sought out the top of her thigh.

"What are you—" he glanced at the door and back to her "—doing here?"

Jade swallowed and folder her arms. "Trust me, you don't want to know."

Roy narrowed his eyes and gripped her hand in his. "Jade. Whatever it is. I can handle it. Come on."

"Fine," Jade snapped. "I'm here to get an abortion. I'm pregnant with _your_ child Roy."


	2. Chapter Two

Author's Note: Wow okay so this took awhile. I'm sorry for those of you who have been waiting but I really wanted to finish my other story My Heart Can't Tell You No before I undertook another chapter fic. *Sigh* It's my fault for trying to write so many fics at once -_- Nevertheless, I'm going to try and update more frequently.

Disclaimer: I do not own Young Justice.

* * *

><p>Chapter Two: Okay<p>

* * *

><p>Roy felt like he'd just been hit by a bus, trampled by it and left with the tire stabbing him in the gut, robbing him of all of his oxygen. The ground beneath him suddenly didn't feel all that stable, and he was certain that he'd misunderstood what Jade had just said to him. Because there was no way in <em>hell<em> that she could be pregnant. It was completely outside the realm of possibility, so far outside in fact, that Roy would have bet money on it. Because they were always careful, had always used a condom despite the fact that Jade was on birth control.

He swallowed, his mouth feeling dry. "Um… did you just say…pre—"

"Yes, _pregnant,_ Roy," Jade sneered, yanking her hand out of his. "As in with child, knocked up, expecting, I have a bun in the oven. Whatever the hell you want to call it."

So he hadn't misheard then.

_Oh god,_ Roy thought miserably. Ollie was going to kill him for sure—after Dinah castrated him of course. This was going to be a disaster, one that Roy would never be able to live down. What would the team think? They didn't even know that he was associating with Cheshire, and no doubt once they found out what he'd done, he'd really be in for it. How would the _League_ react? Would they force him to leave Cheshire, put her in a prison? There were so many things that could go very, very wrong if anyone found out.

"But. . .how?" Roy managed to get out.

He just couldn't comprehend it, a baby, him being a father, Jade being a mother. It just didn't seem quite right, looking at Jade, imagining her with a baby in her arms rather than a sai in her grasp. She was many things—incredibly sexy, mysterious, sometimes ruthless, stubborn, amazing in bed—but motherly wasn't one of them.

"I don't know, _okay?_" Jade snapped, sounding incredibly angry and scared—maybe—as her voice cracked. "But it doesn't matter because I'm getting rid of it."

Roy's head snapped up, recognizing the unnatural tone of hurt in her voice. He'd never heard her sound so dejected, look so scared in her life—hell, he'd never even gotten this much emotion out of her. Jade was always so closed off, so hard to read, which had made it hard for Roy to actually _feel_ something other than lust for her.

But right now, Roy felt a lot of things towards Jade Nguyen that he wasn't accustomed to feeling. He had been worried about her before after not hearing from her for days, and now he realized it had been justified. He was worried, confused, angry, but also a part of him was feeling sorry for her. She didn't look anything like the cocky, playful assassin he had chosen to share his bed with; no, right now, she looked like a scared nineteen year old girl who had just found out something earth shattering.

He needed to try a different tactic. Asshole Roy Harper wasn't going to get anywhere at that moment.

"Hey," he said softly, and squeezed her thigh gently, hoping to get her to look at him. "Chesh. Look at me. Please." She finally turned her attention towards him and he tried to smile at her reassuringly. "I'm not angry, okay? I mean, I'm confused, sure. But I don't think _this—_" he gestured to the abortion clinic, "—is the answer. So let's just—"

"It's not your choice."

"—go _home_ and talk about this," he finished, ignoring previous statement.

* * *

><p>"It's not your choice," Jade repeated after a moment of silence. Was he even listening to her? Did he <em>want<em> to listen to her?

Roy's expression seemed to darken. "It may not be _completely_ my choice, but I _do_ have a say in it."

Jade shook her head and stood up from the bench, gesturing wildly with her hands at nothing in particular. She was just so _angry _and—although she wouldn't admit it—scared. This was quite possibly the worst case scenario of _all_ the earth shattering scenarios she had imagined when making the decision to stay with Roy.

She couldn't have a baby. She just couldn't. There was no possible way for her to stay pregnant, give birth, and raise a child. She didn't want to, and even if she could, it would be a complete disaster. The Shadows were going to have her head if they ever found out about her little indiscretion. Or worse, they'd capture Roy and torture him, make her watch until they finally killed him, make her _suffer_ until she reached her breaking point and would beg for them to end her life.

And what was worse, she couldn't even tell the father of her child that she had developed something akin to romantic feelings for him. He could never know that her decision to abort the pregnancy was protecting him as well.

"You have no idea what I'm up against," Jade said, keeping her voice low. "The League of Shadows do not _tolerate_ traitors. Or washed up and pregnant assassins." She locked gazes with him. "Do you _understand?_"

Roy stood up then, a determined look on his face as he grabbed her by the shoulders and looked her straight in the eye. "We can fight them Jade, run away, disappear and—"

"You think it's that _easy_ don't you," she hissed, her tone acidic. She roughly ripped his hands from her shoulders and turned away, folding her arms. "You think it's _that_ easy to just give the most comprehensive assassination network in the world the slip. Well guess what, Harper? It _isn't_. Because if it was, I would've gotten myself out a long time ago."

"There has to be some way," Roy said, his tone sounding no less determined, "between the two of us we can figure something out. And we have _time _Jade—we have at least a few months before you start—" he paused to swallow "—showing. Just _please_ don't do _this_ today. Let's just go home and—"

"You may have a little less time than you think, Arrow."

* * *

><p><em>Sportsmaster,<em> he thought, his upper lip curling in disgust.

Roy whipped his head around, quickly stepping in front of Jade out of instinct. The thought that she was carrying his child now automatically made him feel more protective of her. And now with the sudden appearance of her father, he knew that he couldn't count on _him_ to think of her safety.

"I don't recall opting to make this a family gathering," Jade drawled, stepping out from behind Roy.

"Jade—" Roy warned, putting an arm out to stop her.

Sportsmaster's expression turned from taunting to disgusting in a millisecond. "Hands off of my daughter, Arrow," he growled. "I think you've done enough."

Underneath his grip on her shoulder, he could feel Jade's body tensing. "Leave now_,_" she snarled at him, "and I may consider letting you live."

Sportsmaster chuckled and took a step towards them, and Roy immediately compensated for the movement. Lawrence Crock was a psychotic, cold-blooded killer, and Roy couldn't be certain that he was above maiming his own daughter, _especially _if he deduced why they were standing outside of a women's health clinic.

"Jade, are you really going to deny me the pleasure of one day getting to see my _grandchild?_" he asked, grinning sadistically.

It took all the strength Roy had to stand his ground and not reach forward to wipe that shit-eating grin off of his face.

"This is none of your business," Roy snarled, clenching his fists tightly to quell the urge to make the first strike. "So leave. Before I get tired of this and _force _you to leave."

He wouldn't be the one to start the inevitable chaos that followed when you tangled with Sportsmaster. It wasn't the place or the time, especially when Roy thought about how Jade was much more vulnerable to an attack because of her condition. Anything that happened to her could affect the baby, and even if Jade was dead set on getting rid of it, Roy was going to fight it.

"Kid, I'd like to see you try," Sportsmaster snorted easily, his eyes darting between Roy and Jade. His eyes flickered down to Roy's clenched fist and the older man's lip curled up slightly. "Relax, Arrow. I didn't come here to fight."

"Like I've never heard _that_ before," Jade said blackly, folding her arms. "But I'll humor you, Pops. What is it you want?"

"To help you," he answered quickly and Roy couldn't help the short, bark of laughter that bubbled its way to the surface.

"You don't help anyone unless there's something in it for you," Roy said, his eyes narrowed.

Sportsmaster grinned slightly, his lips curling up to reveal just a sliver of his pearly whites. "This is a _unique_ situation," he spared a pointed glance towards Jade's stomach, before reaching around to grab something from behind his back.

Roy's first thought was that Sporstmaster was reaching for a gun, and he immediately burst into action, launching himself towards the older man, knocking him to the ground.

"Idiot," Sportsmaster growled, placing his hand on Roy's chest and shoving. Roy hit the ground a few feet away with a loud thump. "I was reaching for a package."

With a sigh, Jade reached down and grasped Roy's hand as he got up from the ground—grumbling about it of course—although Roy did not release his grip on her hand, even as she tried to pull away.

Sportsmaster shot Roy a glare as he reached again behind him and pulled out a yellow, manila envelope. "Here," he tossed it to Jade.

She eyed it suspiciously, felt around the edges of the package and glanced up at her father. "Is this what I think it is?"

He nodded, his expression solemn.

She tossed it back to him, wrenching her hand back as if she had been burned. "Not necessary," she said, her eyes flitting back to the women's health clinic.

Sportsmaster frowned and threw it back, only this time Jade let it fall to the floor, her expression unchanging. Roy, confused by the exchange reached down and picked it up.

"What is this?" he asked, looking at Jade.

"A brand new identity for me," Jade explained, her eyes still trained on her father, "which would be necessary if I were planning on trying to evade the Shadows for some reason or another. However," she growled through her teeth, "I'm not keeping _it_ so I'm in absolutely no danger from my employer."

"They know, Jade," he insisted and she widened her eyes.

"They can't," she countered. "I covered my tracks."

"Not well enough, Little Girl," he shrugged. "Now _take it._ You don't have time—" he nodded towards the clinic, "—for _that_. Shadows are already inbound to this location."

Roy's head snapped up at that, despite his lingering suspicion towards Sportsmaster. He seemed to genuinely want to help them, which was completely out of character for someone like him. For all they knew, he could've been the one who tipped the Shadows off about their relationship.

But Roy wasn't willing to take a chance if the Shadows were already en route.

"That's not—" she started to argue, but Roy silenced her.

"Jade."

"We can't _trust _him," she ground out, her eyes flashing as she turned towards Roy. "We don't know if he's telling the truth."

"We can't take—"

Sportsmaster slowly began to back away from the couple silently. Roy turned his head to observe and caught the older man mouthing the words, _make her_. Make her? As in make her _go_ with him?

"—that chance," he finished lamely, as Sportsmaster disappeared from sight.

"Roy it's my father," Jade insisted. "He can't be trusted."

"We can't take the chance Jade," he said harshly, closing his hand around her wrist in an iron grip. She opened her mouth about to protest, but Roy cut her off, by pulling her close so that their faces were just a few inches away. "I know you _think_ you know what you want to do about our. . ._situation_. But we're not making this decision _here_ or _now_. Especially not when the League of Shadows could have a price on your head."

He started pulling her towards his car, and he was at least partially placated by the fact that she wasn't attempting to break free.

"_I_ am not taking that chance with you."


End file.
